Basket



C. F. ROTHWELL.

BASKET.

APPLICATION FILED on. 30, 1920.

1,3 7,135, I I PatentedAug. 9,1921.

12 Y rm/Mrs CHARLES FREDERICK ROTHWELL, 0E COLUMBUS, MONTANA.

E Q I BnsKE'r.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 9,

Application filed October 30, 1920. Serial No. 420,650.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. ROTH- WELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a,

resident of Columbus, county of Stillwater, and 'Stateof Montana, haveinvented a new and Improved Basket, of which the follow ing is a full,clear, and exact description.

This inventionrelates to improvements in baskets, particularly to thatclass of baskets which are commonly employed by undertakers fortransferring a body from one point to another, and are known in thetradeas pick up baskets.

An object of my invention is to provide improved means whereby themanual lifting of :1V corpse from the pick up basket on to theenibalming table is eliminated, and the operation is-thus made moresanitary, and the danger of spreading disease is lessened.

A further object is to provide a pick up basket which will be simple andpractical in construction, and strong, durable, and efficient in use.

\Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction, and combinations and ar rangements ofparts as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of my improved basket.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig.1 showing the doors in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the doors in open position.

Fig. 4 is a still further enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of oneend of the basket with parts broken away to show the details of thelocking mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section on the line 55 ofFig. 4.

The basket comprises an oval base frame 1 upon which is built side walls2 of reeds or some similar material. The removable cover 3 is also madeof reeds as is customary with this form of basket. Suitable flexiblehandles 4 are atttached to the ends of the oval base frame 1.

My invention resides particularly in the provision of an improved bottomor floor for the basket, and a locking mechanism associated therewith.

A pair of doors 5 shaped in conformity outer face of which lies flushwith the oval frame are hinged to the sides of the frame andopendownwardly and outwardly. The hinges 6 whicl1 are employed to hinge thedoors 5 to the frame 1, are made integral with bracket portions 7screwed to the top side of the frame 1 and strengthening the hingedconnection of the doors and frames v i e Truss rods 8 and turn buckles 9to operate the rods are secured to-the under "faces of the doors 5 andserve to strengthen the same.

.The basket is' supported on casters 10 mounted in suitable brackets 11on theunder face of the frame 1." At each end the oval frame 1 isrecessed toreceivea plate 12, the with the outer face of the frame.Under the plates the frame is recessed as shown at 13 to accommodate theheads 14 of screws 15 positioned through centrally located openings inthe plates, and projecting from the ends of the frame 1. It will beunderstood that while the platesv serve to retain the head 14 ofthescrews 15 in the recesses 13, they in no way hamper the turningmovement of the screws.

Any suitable finger receiving devices such as 16 are provided on theouter end of the screws to facilitate manual turning of the same.

The plates 12, the ends of the frame 1, and the doors 5 are formed withalined bolt recFeiving openings 17 as shown clearly in pon each of thescrews 15 is mounted a bolt carrying yoke 18 having a centrally disposedscrew threaded opening engaging the threads of the screws 15 andcarrying a pair of bolts 19 adapted to be moved into the recesses 17 bya turning -movement of the screws 15, and to lock the doors 5 againstopening as will be readily understood.

I do not desire to be limited to any particular means for operating thescrews as it is apparent that various operating devices might beemployed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The operation is as follows: When a body is picked up to be transferredfrom a house to the undertaking parlors, the doors are of course kept inlocked position by the bolts, and the body is introduced into the basketfrom the top. When it is desirable to transfer the body from the basketto the dressing or ,embalming table in the undertaking establishment, itis merely necessary to place the basket on the table and operate thescrews 15 to move the yokes outwardly and retract the bolts. The basketis then lifted upwardly, the weight of the body opening the doors 5 asthe basket is lifted. The door construction obviates any unneces saryhandling of the corpse which remains on the table as the basket isremoved.

While I have illustrated one of the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is apparent that various slight changes and alterationsmight be made in the general form of the parts described withoutdeparting from my invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myselfto'the precise details set forth but shall consider myself at liberty tomake such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall withinthe spiritand scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, an inclosed body carrying basketincluding a base frame, a pair of doors hinged to the sides of the baseframe and swingable downwardly and outwardly, and devices movablethrough the ends of the frame to lock the doors in closed position.

2. In a basketof the character described, a base frame, a pair of doorshinged to the base frame screws secured to the ends of the frame andturnable therein, yokes having screw threaded openings fitting thescrews, said frame and doors having alined openings therein, boltscarried by the yokes, and means whereby turning movement of the screwsin one direction moves the bolts into locking position in the openings.

3. In a basket of the character described, an oval base frame, a pair ofdoors hingedly connected to the base frame, said base frame and doorshaving alined bolt receiving openings in their ends, plates, screws heldagainstlong-itudinal movement by the plates but free to turn, devices onthe ends of the screws for turning the same, yokes movable on thescrews, bolts carried by the yokes, and movable in said alined recesseswhereby turning movement of the screws operate the bolts.

CHARLES FREDERICK ROTHWELL.

